ICE (The Benders Series) (2 page)

As she got closer, Kenna began to feel better about her decision to join her friend.

After all, the Colewells were far from ordinary.

Upon the rink skated four very eye-catching brothers. Each of them was handsome in his own right, but it wasn’t their good looks that first startled her. No, instead it was their lack of clothing. It was twenty degrees, but the Colewells were dressed as if it were seventy. Wearing t-shirts and shorts, Kenna could help but to go a little slack-jawed at the sight.

And if their lack of clothing didn’t make her awe-stricken, surely the contours of their toned muscles would.

“What’s in the water they’re drinking?” she asked in a hushed tone as she sat on a nearby bench to observe the game.

Britney giggled at the remark. “I don’t know, but they are the town’s eye candy,” she smiled in agreement as she took a seat on the bench as well.

The girls watched for a few minutes. Kenna couldn’t help to be just a tiny bit enthralled as she watched the hockey players brawl over their puck.  From what she could make of it, the game was a two versus two matchup. On one team were two very serious looking blond-hair, blue-eyed players. Their cheek bones were severe upon their pale skin, and their blue eyes shone through glaring slits as they darted intensely to and from an ever gliding puck.

Yes, intense was the perfect word for the two of them.

On the other team were a very different pair of brothers. One was dirty blond with round blue eyes that seemed to radiate joy and life. His face was round and young atop a very tall and sturdy build. Though the largest of the brothers, he wore a great, infectious, and unthreatening smile as they played. And the final brother was perhaps the most eye-catching of the four. His hair was dark, chocolate brown and sat tussled above his ghostly skin. And his eyes. They were so blue that they almost glowed.

She didn’t know if it was the darkness of his hair contrasted with the whiteness of his skin that made him stand out or if it was the fact that he was clearly the best hockey player of the brothers.

Though each of them were skilled and clearly well-practiced, he was the quickest and seemed to possess athletic instincts that the others could not match. He wasn’t as tall or as built as his teammate, but he definitely carried their team-which appeared to be winning.

“So which one is Bryce then?” Kenna whispered as she looked to her friend. She could feel numerous blue eyes beginning to notice their audience, a pair of them glowing and staring so powerfully that she needed to turn herself away. A chill shot down her spine as she turned, and a freezing gust of air swept itself around her.

“Oh,” Britney shook her head back to her friend as she’d also became fascinated with the game. “Bryce is the tallest. His brother Jonathan is the darker one. He graduated a couple years ago. Then the other two are Dax and Graham. They’re kinda serious.”

“Yea it seems that way,” she agreed as she noted how frustrated the two older brothers seemed with the game.

“Hey, Bryce!” the girl then called as she observed a pause in the match. Kenna clenched her previously chattering teeth as she was not so fond of being introduced to another classmate in such an off-the-cuff manner, but figured she no longer had a choice.

Kenna turned herself back the four brothers as she watched Bryce knuckle-bump his teammate and make his way towards the spectators. The new girl immediately became nervous as he approached, though she had to admit that people, in general, made her uncomfortable.

“Hey!” the handsome junior greeted with that friendly smile. “Who’s your friend?”  He asked as he stabbed his hockey stick into a mound of snow and rested his hands on its head.

“This is Kenna, the new girl!” she replied quickly. “She’s even in our class.”

“I see, I’m Bryce,” he said shifting his eyes towards Kenna and reaching out a hand from its resting place. Kenna took a warm hand out of the safety of its pocket and began to shake his hand when her arm suddenly jerked back in surprise.

“Holy your hands are freezing!” Kenna blurted, shocked at the coldness that was his hand. It seemed even colder than ice to her as she hid her hand back in her coat pocket.

Bryce laughed immediately at her reaction, “Well, it’s winter in Minnesota!” He then proceeded to scoop up a handful of snow and eat it off his bare palm.

“Yuck,” Britney scolded with a scrunched nose and slightly protruding tongue.

“What?” he defended with a joking smile. “I’m thirsty! It ain’t like I’m eating the yellow snow. This stuff’s fresh!” he pointed out as he patted the rest of the snow off his hands.

“Bryce, it’s twenty degrees out. You guys should be wearing jackets,” Britney scolded, her eyebrow raised in a concerned, motherly fashion.

“That’s warm for December,” he argued once more. “And we hardly ever wear jackets, you know that!” Kenna could see Britney rolling her eyes at the clown though she smirked as she rolled them. “And besides, enough about me and my bad habits! So where are you from?” Bryce asked, facing the new girl once more.

Kenna forced her lips to curl into a smile. “Florida,” she answered. “Not far from Jacksonville,” she went on to elaborate as the boy’s eyes went wide in surprise.

“Wow,” Bryce replied. “So this is quite the climate change, huh? This your first time seeing snow?”

“I’ve seen it once before, but not like this,” Kenna said as she motioned to the foot of snow that covered the ground. “I have yet to understand why you people would want to live in such bipolar state. In Florida, there is much more consistency. At least where the weather is concerned.”

Both Britney and Bryce laughed at the observation, clearly amused at Kenna’s wit. “I suppose I like the change every year,” he chuckled. “And I’d take a snow storm to a hurricane any day of the week!” He added cleverly.

Before Kenna could open her mouth to retort, one of the brothers called, “Bryce, are you in or what?!”

“Five minutes!” he called back to his impatient siblings who had been slashing around the puck to pass the time. “Sorry about them,” he said upon returning to the conversation. “They are all about hockey this time of year!”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Britney agreed, having observed them playing several times already this year.

“So those are your brothers then?” Kenna inquired nodding her head towards the rink where all six blue eyes had suddenly turned her way. A chill shot down her spine once again, making every hair stand on end and every inch of her skin morph into rigid goosebumps. The girl even twitched with an unexpected and uncontrollable shiver.

“You okay?” Bryce asked before answering.

“Yeah, it’s just so freaking freezing,” she explained as she took her eyes off the brothers and back on Bryce.

He laughed half-heartedly. “I’m sure you’ll get used to it,” Bryce encouraged. “Anyways, yes, those would be my three older brothers. Jon, Dax, and Graham. They’re not a bad bunch once you get to know them. But none of them are nearly as awesome as me so not much to see there I guess,” he teased.

“Your brothers? Not much to see?” Britney joked back. “Every girl in this town begs to differ!”

The three of them laughed a little at the comment before Bryce chimed in with another round of questions. Kenna was beginning to think the interrogation might last more than the promised five minutes. “So do you have any siblings? Why’d your family move all the way up here?”

Kenna sighed, “It’s complicated. My mom got remarried so I came up with my dad who got relocated or something or the other. I’m not even sure exactly what he does, to be honest. All I know is that I’d rather be up here in this frozen wasteland- no offense- than constantly getting in the way of my mom’s perfect new family.” She put her head down, doing her best to hide her sensitivity to the subject.

“Mmm sorry to hear that,” Bryce commented, but quickly changed the subject. “But no worries. You’ll fit in great here! Well, Chelsea and her crew will probably hate you, but they hate everyone.”

Kenna turned to Britney with confusion as her tour guide had not yet mentioned anyone by that name.

“It’s cause you’re prettier than her,” Britney explained. “Chelsea is one of the rich, cliquey girls that’s used to having her way a hundred percent of the time. Just don’t get in her way more than you have to,” she went on to say, “or at least that’s my prerogative.”

The new girl was silent for a moment. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had called her pretty. She shook her head slightly to shake off the comment, “Oh, yeah I’ll do my best I guess. Thanks for the heads up,” Kenna said appreciatively to Bryce, who was now resting his chin on his hands.

Before he could think of a response, one of the hockey players called, “Well, I guess we’re done then!”

The trio turned to see the brothers begin to pull off their skates as one of the older two made his way towards them.

“What gives?” Bryce asked as he pulled his stick out from the snowy mound.

“Jon says he’s done waiting around. Way to go,” he snarled as he grabbed his youngest brother’s arm to follow him out.

Bryce groaned a little at the remark. “Fine, I’m coming,” he acknowledged as twisted his arm away from his brother. “See you guys around! Nice to meet you, Kenz!”

Kenna wasn’t sure how she felt about the nickname, but decided that Bryce seemed good natured enough to handle being on a nickname basis. “Yep, nice meeting you,” she agreed as she watched them join the other two brothers who were waiting with ice-cold glares.

“So this is the park anyways!” Britney smiled as she stood from the bench. “Ready to head back? I don’t want to overwhelm you more than I probably already have!”

Kenna nodded in agreement as they began their march back towards her house. If at first the crunching under her feet sounded like death, then fallen stars, now it sounded like new life, like the crunching of perfectly crisped breakfast toast. Yes, like breakfast, this could be the start of a new beginning, though cold cereal would probably fit the description better than toasty toast.

Kenna smiled a little at the internal metaphors as she and Britney began again in light conversation. And in what seemed like no time, they reached her home and exchanged a brief and pleasant farewell. Upon entering her house and resting her coat on a hanger, Kenna exhaled quietly. Perhaps living in Minnesota wouldn’t be so bad. Britney and Bryce were likable, and the town itself was peaceful enough. Maybe it would do her good to be away from all the action and speed that the city life brought.

Yes, this place could, in fact, be just what she needed as nothing too exciting could possibly happen here.

CHAPTER TWO

Flawless.

Easy, but flawless.

That’s how I want to look
, Kenna reminded herself as she began getting ready for the evening’s events. Friday had crept up swiftly and quietly like a preying cat about to pounce upon its mouse. In a matter of a few short hours, Britney would be knocking on the door to bring the new girl to her first official outing as a member of Cedar Point High School, a school apparently named after a nearby rock with a cedar tree growing out of it.

Jason’s bonfire. Kenna supposed a fire would suit her. After all, she was getting sick of the cold, and the thought of gathering around the warmth of a bright flame sounded quite pleasant. The only problem, of course, was that she knew next-to-none of the other people that would also be present at the little outing. Sure, she knew Britney. Well, as much as she could know someone after hanging out with them for one day.

Kenna took a deep breath as she entered the sanctity of her bathroom. She seemed to have made a good impression on Britney. Now all she had to do was make a good impression on all the other people in her class. Unfortunately, the girl had never been so good at making friends.

But this is a new start
, she reminded herself.
Minnesota is not Florida.

With that in mind, Kenna quickly scanned her current- and quite disheveled- appearance.

She was dressed in comfortable, loose-fitting sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt. Her hair had been tossed into a high ponytail, and not a trace of make-up clung to her face. Considering she’d spent most of the day unpacking and rearranging her room, Kenna didn’t think she looked all that bad.

Nevertheless, the blond jumped into a hot shower and began what was considered a normal weekday morning routine. After her brief scrubbing and clad in only a towel, Kenna hopped in front of the mirror.

The new girl never really wore heavy make-up. Even on an evening such as this, she hardly needed make-up. She simply applied a few strokes of mascara to her naturally curly eyelashes and one light layer of powder to her slightly tanned, but generally pale skin. Seeing as it might be considered a special occasion, she decided to dab on a bit of lip gloss and a brush of bronzer. After this, she simply dried her hair and gave it a quick straighten.

Even without the applied products, Kenna was quite striking. Her big bright brown eyes were compelling and bizarre against her smooth white skin, and her long, dirty blond hair hung effortlessly down her back like silk on a hanger. As for the girl’s lips, they were pink and perfect to match her rosy cheeks.

She was naturally beautiful, but naturally a worrier.

She smiled at her appearance with a forced confidence.
Good enough
, the girl thought as she dashed back into her bedroom to find a suitable outfit. Luckily for her, she’d just unpacked her wardrobe so she knew exactly where to find the perfect ensemble. Opening her closet, she grabbed a white sweater and a pair of dark blue skinny jeans. Instead of the snow boots she’d worn on her previous outing with Britney, Kenna slipped on a pair of ankle-high, wedged fashion boots that she’d bought thereafter.

As she flung on the casual but flattering apparel, she took a brief look around her new room. It wasn’t much, probably half the size of her bedroom at her mother’s house back in Florida. Nevertheless, she managed to squeeze in her queen sized bed and her rather large dresser. Kenna couldn’t help but grin as she glanced at the large wooden dresser. On top of it sat an array of colorful figurines and snow globes that she had collected over the years. Most of them had been gifts from her father that he’d collected on his business ventures when she was just a child. They were all silly, but all sentimental.

Even now, looking at them forced a smile, but a just brief smile.

Shaking off her thoughts and marching swiftly back to the mirror, Kenna gave her appearance a final scan.

That’ll do, Kenna. That’ll do
, she said to herself, quoting an old movie she used to watch with her dad.
Easy and flawless
, she thought as she exited the bathroom once more.

Kenna was moving quickly now, certain that Britney would arrive at any moment. Her anxiety was beginning to build in her gut as she raced around the house trying to find a scarf and a pair of matching gloves.

“Excited?” her father commented seeing his daughter scanning her surroundings for the last minute attire.

“Nervous,” she acknowledged. “What if no one likes me, just like before?”

At that, her dad came and placed his hands firmly on her shoulders. He stared deeply into her eyes and reminded her, “You just be you. If you do that, you’ll make plenty of friends. And besides, I think Britney is already a good friend.” Kenna could only nod in agreement as she had no time to argue with the man about his hastened kindness towards her classmate. “Do you need anything else?” he asked seeing that her eyes were still scurrying around the room.

“A hat of some sort would be nice,” Kenna replied. “But I don’t remember seeing one.”

Before they could search together, a knock came at the door.

“I’ll get it, you keep looking,” her dad suggested as he went to the front entry.

With those words, the new girl began a frantic search through the boxes in the living room, but no hat could be found.

Oh well
, she figured,
I can suck it up for a few hours
.

“Hey!” came Britney’s enthused voice from the entry as she saw her friend coming. “I thought for sure you might try to bail on me.  Oh,” she continued on a happy rant, “I brought this for you. Everyone has one!” Then the brunette held out a knitted headband similar to one that she herself was wearing. It was black with a black flower on its side to give it a feminine flair. “It’s gonna be a fun night!” she said as she beckoned toward the front yard where her vehicle sat running.

Kenna was secretly touched by the gift. It even matched the black coat that she’d worn on their first excursion.

“Not too much fun,” Kenna’s father quickly warned as he watched her daughter slip on the headband with a slight smile. “No alcohol and you call if you need me,” he prompted as Kenna and Britney began their exit.

“No worries, Mr. Rosen!” Britney exclaimed. “And I’ll have her back by eleven!”

The worrywart then nodded his head and opened the door for the pair as they exchanged a rather felonious glace. “Bye, Dad,” the new girl called as she trotted down the front steps and to where her friend’s car was parked.

“See you at eleven!” he called back while his daughter and her new classmate found their seats in the vehicle. “And drive safe!” he added, not sure if he could totally trust a teen’s driving on the winter roads.

Kenna waved back at him as Britney began to pull away.

“Your dad is so cute,” she noted, “all protective and what-not.”

Despite her irritation with the man, Kenna was secretly quite fond of her father. Sure, he was ordinary in appearance with his brown hair and brown eyes and just a tidbit of a beer belly, but he was special in the way that he cared for her. Kenna knew just by the look in the man’s eyes that she was truly his world.

“Or annoying,” Kenna joked as she settled herself into the old Buick and dismissed her kind thoughts. “So this is a nice ride,” she teased as she looked up at the pictures that were pinned to the ceiling. They weren’t there for decoration as much as they were to hold up the tattered cloth of the old roof.

“Hey now,” she laughed. “Don’t be dissing on Bertha. I love this old thing,” she said as she patted the steering wheel like it was a pet dog.

The pair chatted about cars for a while, then about boys and clothes and sports. Before Kenna knew it, they were turning onto a dark gravel road that could only be described as something you would see on a horror film. Kenna swallowed hard and pushed back her anxiety once more. She was generally a pretty tense but gutsy individual, so she wasn’t going to let the frozen winter darkness trouble her- at least not too much.

“Just ahead is our destination!” Britney announced as she began to pull to the side of the road where a few other vehicle were parked.

Kenna gave her surroundings a brief scan. Out the window and down a slight hill, she could see a small clearing near the river, a tiny fire, and what appeared to be fifteen or so people gathered around it. If not for the fire and the brightness of the moon and stars, it would have been pitch black.

The stars. They were much different out here than they were on the outskirts of Jacksonville. As the new girl stepped out of the vehicle and looked about her, she couldn’t help but take a moment to stare. They were like giant twinkling snowflakes, dazzling against the blackness of a sunless sky. Though motionless, they seemed to swirl in and out in sophisticated designs as if trapped in a chance, but very thoughtful winter wind.

The stars were beautiful.

Absolutely beautiful.

“So, there’s the fire! I’m surprised that they actually got one going this time!” Britney noted as she began to walk on a dirt hiking path that led towards the group.

Kenna nodded and joined her as they arrived together at the little get-together. Everyone went quiet as soon as the pair got close, which of course only added to the new girl’s growing nervousness.

“So you’re the new girl, huh?” Breaking the brief silence came a deep and arrogant voice and the appearance of a boy who matched such a voice.

“This is Kenna. She’s from Florida,” Britney announced with an appreciated calmness.

The boy nodded. His hair didn’t move with the nod as it was gelled to pompous perfection. “Jason,” he said proudly.

Kenna smiled, a fake and forced smile.

“Nice headband,” commented a few of the girls who likewise introduced themselves. Within a few minutes, everyone was making small talk. A few others began to show up as well. Bryce and his brother Jon arrived and so had a few other girls. For a few minutes, everything was quite easy, and everyone seemed to live up to the Minnesota-nice sayings.

Eventually, though, the talking died down, and the group seemed to split off into a few little cliques. Britney and Kenna were on their own again gossiping about everyone they’d just seen when Kenna felt another unusual shiver speed down her spine. Like in past experiences, she actually twitched with the chills.

“What was that?” Britney asked with a smirk.

Kenna shook her head. “I don’t know, just cold I guess,” she said trying to shrug off the uncomfortable shudders that lingered in her limbs. But the chill seemed impossible to discard as she shook almost uncontrollably. And at that time, she just so happened to turn and notice that two inordinately blue eyes were locked on her.

Noticing her observation, the eyes darted off in another direction. And suddenly, her shivers ceased.

“You sure you’re okay?” her friend asked a little more concernedly.

“He was staring at me,” Kenna announced with the filter between her mind and mouth failing in its job to prevent such happenings. She could see the look of confusion on Britney’s face. “That Jon kid,” she explained. “I swear he was staring at me.”

A smile quickly danced across Britney’s face. “He’s cute! Go talk to him!” she whispered in a hushed but excited tone. “He probably thinks you’re pretty!”

Kenna shook her head again as if to disagree, but a sudden and unexpected feeling of confidence stopped her. “I think I will,” she announced as she marched away from her friend. She grabbed a beer from the cooler and strode with haste toward the two Colewells who were now tossing around a football.

She didn’t know if it was her natural curiosity or her sense of adventure that made her approach the handsome boy. Even after seeing a questioning look come across his face as she came, the new girl walked on, unwavering in her decision to confront him.

“Hi, I’m Kenna,” she said proudly holding out her hand for a shake.

He didn’t answer but looked down at her hand with a countenance of disgust. “That’s nice,” he said as he turned away from her to throw the football back to a waiting Bryce. He didn’t bother to shake hands or even make eye contact with the girl.

“Beer?” she offered holding out the beverage.

He once again looked down with arrogance and repulsion. “No, I don’t drink. It’s against the law,” he sneered.

“Oh,” Kenna acknowledged dropping the drink into her jacket pocket. “That’s very mature of you, I suppose. So you like sports, huh?” she asked seeing that he was doing his best to avoid continuing the conversation.

“Yeah,” he replied coldly without offering a return question.

Kenna felt herself getting a little embarrassed, but for some reason was also entirely at ease. So at ease, that she jumped out in front of the Colewell to catch Bryce’s pass back to him. Both brothers stood stunned for a moment at the move, but Bryce quickly called, “Nice interception!”

Jon didn’t say anything but rolled his eyes in obvious irritation.

Kenna didn’t understand his attitude and found herself growing even bolder. “So why were you staring at me?” she blurted without giving the accusation much thought.

He became immediately defensive. “I wasn’t. Why would anyone stare at you?”